Andrew Blades, Newcastle's new forwards coach, is adopting a softly-softly approach as he gets to know the Falcons over the next few days.

Andrew Blades, Newcastle's new forwards coach, is adopting a softly-softly approach as he gets to know the Falcons over the next few days.

Blades, who watched the Newcastle players training in the shadow of the new South Stand yesterday, admitted to being impressed with the £12m redevelopment of Kingston Park into a 10,000-capacity stadium.

He is also an admirer of the direction in which manager Rob Andrew is taking the Falcons.

"That's why I'm here," said the Aussie World Cup-winning prop, who decided to throw in his lot with Newcastle after three months of negotiation and leave the highly-successful ACT Brumbies.

"I'm really impressed. I didn't come here with any pre-conceptions. The only thing I'd done is talk to Rob a lot when I was making my decision where to go.

"I was just very comfortable with what he had to say about the club and where it was going to go and what it was all about.

"That made my mind up and my first impressions have just confirmed what I thought, that this is a club where players want to improve and that's what I get motivated by.

"I have to get to know them, what their strengths are, what their characters are and then take it from there." Hopes that Blades, who played for Wallabies when they won the 1999 World Cup, may make a return to playing in the Falcons front row were quickly dismissed.

He said: "There is no chance of that. Mentally I would love to, but physically I would struggle.

"I haven't played since 1999 and the body would fall apart!"

Much has been made of the fact the Falcons have lost a lot of experienced players, including Scotland prop George Graham.

Thath means, in the absence of any new signing thus far, their four props this season will be Micky Ward, Ian Peel, Marius Hurter and Jimmy Isaacson.

But it's not a problem as far as Blades is concerned. He said "We've seen the way the game is going.

"There is a bigger emphasis again on forward play, but I think we have enough forward strength. But we don't want to take away from the rest of the game at the same time.

"I know from watching the Falcons tapes they play a very attractive game and my job is to help, with good basics, to get the forwards to back that up."

Missing from training yesterday were Epi Taione, who is with the Tongan Commonwealth Games squad, Scotland flanker Andy Mower and wing Gareth Maclure.

In a surprise development, Mower and Maclure have been circulated to other clubs as being available for a move.

But Rob Andrew stressed that they could return to be part of the squad if they were unable to secure a move.